KVSP Rams have NFL’s craziest clinching scenario of Week 17: How Browns and Vikings could help L.A. win NFC West
Written by Lucky Wilson | KJMM.COM on December 29, 2024
The NFL playoff race always gets a little crazy down the stretch, and things could get especially crazy in the NFC West this weekend.
The race for the division title is down to the Los Angeles Rams (10-6) and the Seattle Seahawks (9-7). Both teams won in Week 17 with the Seahawks topping the Chicago Bears, 6-3, on Thursday night while the Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals, 13-9, on Saturday.
The fact that the Seahawks won means that they’ll likely have a chance to clinch the NFC West when they face the Rams in Week 18, but it’s not guaranteed, and that’s because the Rams could still win the NFC West in Week 17 by clinching the STRENGTH OF VICTORY tiebreaker, which is the fifth tiebreaker used if two teams are tied at the top of their division.
In what is easily the craziest playoff-clinching scenario of the week, the Rams could win the division by potentially getting some help from a list of teams that includes the Cleveland Browns.
The Rams just need to get 1.5 wins from the following four teams to clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker (To get 1.5 wins from the group below, the Rams could use one win and one tie, but the most realistic scenario would be to get two wins):
The crazy thing here is that all four teams are playing at home.
The Rams actually needed four wins to claim the strength of victory tiebreaker this week, but they got two of those with the Bengals beating the Broncos and the Bills beating the Jets. If the Browns and Vikings win during the 4 p.m. window, then the Rams will clinch the NFC West title.
On the other hand, the Seahawks and Rams might not know until Monday night whether their Week 18 showdown is going to mean anything. If the Rams do get 1.5 wins from the group of four teams above, then they’ll clinch the division and they’ll be able to rest their starters in Week 18.
Strength of victory is a rarely used tiebreaker that’s only been utilized three times since 2010 and the Seahawks were actually on the losing end of one of those tiebreakers. Last season, they were tied with the Packers at 9-8 for the final playoff spot, but they lost out on the strength of victory tiebreaker. Losing out on the the SOV tiebreaker two years in a row when it’s almost never used would definitely count as bad luck.
If you want to check out all 14 clinching scenarios that are in play around the NFL during Week 17, you can do that here.
The post Rams have NFL’s craziest clinching scenario of Week 17: How Browns and Vikings could help L.A. win NFC West first appeared on OKC Sports Radio.
